The development of the cultural and creative industries, particularly in terms of immersion and new media, owes much to the efforts of the French community’s international relays. Here we take a look at the French Office in Taipei, at the forefront of the strong activity between France and Taiwan, and present the Villa Formose. The Villa Formose is a reception and exchange facility for creators, and the first step in launching projects (especially immersive ones) towards a bright future.
Contributors to this article: Cécile Renault, Cooperation and Cultural Action Advisor, Director of the Center for Cooperation and Cultural Action in Taipei (COCAC), and Nicolas Rouilleault, Audiovisual Attaché in charge of cultural and creative industries in Taipei, Taiwan. Thanks to Morgan Fraisse-Lazzlo, Cultural Attaché, and Catherine Yun-Yu WANG, Audiovisual Project Manager.
Villa Formose, since 2022
Villa Formose is a residency project initiated in September 2022 by the Taipei Center for Cooperation and Cultural Action, with the aim of strengthening ties in the cultural and creative industries between France and Taiwan.
In creating this label, the French Office in Taipei is part of a strong dynamic in French diplomacy of influence, which now extends beyond the historic residences at Villa Medici, Villa Kujoyama and Casa de Velázquez. All over the world, off-site programs are being developed, such as the recent Villa Albertine in the United States, which enables some 80 artists a year to stay anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on their projects.

In 2024, the Villa Formose is divided into several sections (and as many calls for applications);
- Villa Formose – Immersive, a program coordinated by CENTQUATRE-PARIS and supported by the CNC, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), Kaohsiung Film Archive and the Institut Français as part of the ICC 2024 Call for Projects, to strengthen creative synergies in the field of immersive reality (XR), and encourage growth in the number of Franco-Taiwanese co-productions, with two components: the Taiwan Writing Residency, dedicated to project writing, and the Taiwan X France Prototyping Residency, a bilateral cross-residency dedicated to the development and pre-production of works. Calls for applications are closed for 2024.
- Villa Formose – Nouvelles écritures, a scheme supported by the Institut Français as part of the La Fabrique des Résidences program, designed to support formats such as series, webtoons, podcasts and digital writing, as well as new ways of interacting with audiences and developing participation. The residency is not limited to any particular discipline. Application deadline for 2025: Sunday, September 15, 2024 at 11:59 pm.
- Villa Formose – Livre, scheme supported by the Institut Français as part of the La Fabrique des Résidences program, to help authors and illustrators come to Taiwan for the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE – Taipei International Book Exhibition) and/or the Mois de la Francophonie, to develop a free-writing project with a compulsory link to Taiwan.
- Villa Formose – Arts Vivants Innovants, supported by the Théâtre Nouvelle Génération (TNG) – Centre Dramatique National de Lyon, le National Taichung Theater (NTT) – Taichung, and by the Institut Français as part of the ICC 2024 Call for Projects, with a larger-scale cooperation between the two cultural establishments affirming their joint support for the emergence of hybrid and/or immersive forms, with an initial program entitled “Artistic writing and augmented reality”.
- Villa Formose Nouvelle Vague, each year, this program enables several Taiwanese authors (whatever their artistic discipline) to carry out a residency in France, in partnership with a venue approved by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Projects are selected by the French Office in association with French host structures.
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From Taiwan XR Residency to Villa Formose Immersive
Cécile Renault – When I arrived in Taipei, there was already a residency program dedicated to immersive creation, run by the Forum des Images, Kaohsiung Film Archive and the Bureau français. It was one of our most structured programs, among a host of cultural initiatives, but we needed to raise the profile of the operation as a whole. We wanted to make the program better known to creators and, above all, secure its future by finding additional funding. And to build the program over time, not in fits and starts. What’s more, it seemed essential to organize creative round-trips, with trips to Taiwan of course, but also to enable Taiwanese artists to travel to France. The establishment of the Villa Albertine was of great interest to us, and motivated us to imagine the Villa Formose program as a whole, including exchanges between residents.
C. R. – It was when we joined La Fabrique des Résidences de l’Institut Français in 2024 that this desire to create a cross-disciplinary program based on a network of residencies covering the whole of Taiwan became a reality. This gave us the opportunity to seek out institutional and private partners, depending on the disciplines involved. The heart of Villa Formose is innovation. It’s quite obvious when we talk about immersive or new writing, or for the latest project, “Arts Vivants Innovants”. That doesn’t mean we can’t select a more traditional project, if need be, or depending on opportunities such as the Taipei Book Fair. Inviting artists to cultural events is nothing new in itself, but linking this to a scheme like Villa Formose gives us new opportunities and ideas. We’re delighted: a major French company based in Taiwan has already decided to support the first Villa Formose – Nouvelles écritures resident!

Nicolas Rouilleault – As for Villa Formose Immersive, at the end of 2022 we received confirmation of the participation of the CNC (via its support fund for immersive creation) and TAICCA to support an ambitious program consisting of a cross-prototyping residency to accompany two projects (one in France, the other in Taiwan) and a writing residency in Taiwan (enabling 4 French creators to come to Taiwan to finalize the writing of an immersive work), before the Institut Français confirmed its participation the following year. The deployment of a counterpart in France to this new writing residency is currently under discussion.
We were delighted to be associated with the Bureau Français de Taipei and the TAICCA team from the initial conception of Villa Formose. We worked together with great enthusiasm to set up this residency. The CNC considers it essential to support creators as early as possible in the design process. Over and above financial support, the principle of a working residency is one of the most interesting ways of enriching the creations themselves. And the international nature of Villa Formose adds an exciting dimension of cultural exchange and sharing.
Olivier Fontenay, Chef du service Création Numérique au CNC
N. R. – In the case of projects at the prototyping stage, we soon realized that the program was an obvious lever for them, facilitating the search for additional funding. Most of the projects received under this program went on to become co-productions between Taiwan and France. For the subsequent writing residency, we questioned the relevance of the scheme, given the fragility of the projects at the writing stage. The launch by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture of a new fund for immersive creation (aimed in particular at multi-user XR projects) convinced us of the program’s relevance, as two projects that emerged from it were supported (Sosowon, the Season of the Flying Fish, by Nina Barbier and Résistances by Axel Clévenot), a grant that will enable them to produce a first prototype and present it at the Kaohsiung Film Festival. It’s no coincidence that these two French projects have received their first financial backing from the Taiwanese side.

C. R. – And it’s not an initial intention to push for funding, but the result of encounters linked to the residency. We offer this type of opportunity, and time. In writing, authors are invited for 3 to 4 weeks. In prototyping, it’s more like 6 to 8 weeks, which we try to adapt to the specificities of each project. And for each trip, a schedule of activities and visits is set up by our Taiwanese partners. Winners alternate creative time with time for networking and discovery. This is essential, and much appreciated, as it’s the very essence of our initiative to link cultural and creative ecosystems! And we can even consider following up on projects once a relationship has been established between the two countries, finding ways to support their return to Taiwan or accompany the launch of productions. With a degree of flexibility depending on the project.
Positioning yourself at the heart of the creative industries
N. R. – By mutual agreement with our partners, Villa Formose Immersive was designed with a very strong “industry” focus, so that the program would have a real place within the immersive ecosystem. Joining forces with an event like NewImages (and the Forum des Images) was essential in the first instance, as the event is based on one of the most dynamic XR markets, and was important for our Taiwanese partners as an international platform to present their projects and find co-financing. On the other hand, the Kaohsiung Film Festival played a pivotal role on the Asian side of things, with a strong commitment to the follow-up of winning projects.
C. R. – TAICCA has an industrial vision of its investments in culture, which helps us enormously, along with an artistic eye linked to the French cultural exception. For the development of Villa Formose, in our discussions with the CNC in particular, we quickly realized that it would be interesting to launch a “writing” section – and refocus on very young projects that benefit from our support. In order to host this, we needed a partner with the capacity to welcome more teams to Paris. That’s when CENTQUATRE-PARIS came to the fore, as a cultural incubator for Taiwanese teams. The venue includes the 104factory, but above all has already played a very active role in the development of projects and prototypes such as Novaya’s NOIRE (which subsequently shot its volumetric capture part in Taiwan, even without being connected to Villa Formose). It seemed an ideal venue in terms of space and reception, with a synergy that could extend to its events such as the Némo Biennial.
N. R. – And it’s an opening up that is taking place without severing the link that Taiwanese immersive creation has forged with the NewImages festival, since projects that have passed through Villa Formosa continue to go to XR Market and Taiwanese works continue to be programmed in the official selection. All this contributes to providing a quality environment, which explains why the program welcomes increasingly rich creative projects. As time goes by, we are becoming better identified with the creators.

N. R. – This summer, we’re also launching Villa Formose Nouvelle Vague, a program dedicated to Taiwanese artists whose works offer a fresh take on Taiwanese identity, whatever their artistic discipline. The first winner, Huang Pang-Chuan, is working on a cinematographic project on the borderline between documentary and experimental. He is currently in residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts for the Paris Olympic Games, shooting a feature-length documentary in 16 mm, in which he revisits a film by Chris Marker, Le Mystère Koumiko (1965), itself shot during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A second project, an original TV series entitled FLY, written by Taiwanese author Chang Kuo-Li, already known to French audiences for his novel Le sniper, son wok et son fusil, will be the subject of a residency at Cité du Mot in the autumn.
C. R. – … and there are complementary interests in pushing all the cultural and creative industries through our various residencies, notably by helping Taiwan broadcast its own content. France has a strong audiovisual industry, which can provide strong advice and skills in writing or producing series/films.
Villa Formose: an evolving concept
C. R. – We develop each chapter of Villa Formose around a Taiwanese partner. For theater, it’s the National Taichung Theater (NTT), for example. It’s an essential cultural venue here. They already have an established collaboration with Lyon’s TNG, and we’re here to add another dimension to their partnership, if possible with additional funding. It’s the first year, so we’re testing the waters – in particular, cross-residencies, which this year will enable us to send young creators to the Avignon Festival.
C. R. – We’re in an experimental phase. It’s essential to position ourselves on innovative ideas to welcome artists, in new conditions to encourage creation. For example, we need to involve scientific collaborations, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence. Taiwan is a formidable breeding ground for culture and technology. Villa Formose needs to adopt a form that evolves in line with needs and trends, with new partners (and their imperatives, notably regarding residency durations). Immersive works very well, with real results, and XR creators remain at the heart of the system.

Villa Formose Immersive – The winners
2023 Villa Formose Immersive – The Residency
Writing
- Faye Formisano, IN HER RAIN
- Axel Clévenot, LE SONGE DE LI HUA (working title)
- Nina Barbier, SOSOWON, THE SEASON OF THE FLYING FISH
- Cécile Palusinski, FLOATING CITIES
Prototype
- u2p050, DEEP ECOLOGY
2024 Villa Formose Immersive – The Residency
Writing
- Judith Pernin, BESIEGED FORTRESS
- Mélanie Courtinat, OUTSIDE
- Elene Usdin, Boni Stardust, JUDITH IN THE SLEEPING WOODS
- Benjamin Efrati, BEFORE EDEN
Prototype
- Joséphine Dérobe, PIETRA, DREAMED CITY
Announcement of the 5 winning Villa Formose Immersive projects
This article is published as part of a paid partnership.
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